@greenwitch I wouldn’t use the phrase ‘whiny babies’ but otherwise I agree. I think the idea of opening before we meet benchmarks in national guidelines and that people with no education or specialty in pandemic control think their individual opinion is as valid as those of a chorus of specialists is scary. Of course, we should also listen to experts on the economy as well.
Opening when people who could are not wearing masks, are not sticking to the level of opening that is allowed in whatever areas, having armed protesters who are not social distancing or wearing masks congregate, etc is all very worrisome. I think we did a fairly good job with the stay home in March and much of April, thankfully!! That has made a difference. But I worry we are making a big mess now for our future in so many ways.
I do wish we were united in facing this pandemic together as a nation (and globally). I think it will take a lot of working together to get this under control and protect everyone in terms of health and the economy.
RI has been very aggressive in addressing travelers coming from other areas. Early on, they were stopping cars with NY plates. When NY threatened to sue, RI just broadened it to include any travelers from any state. They stopped cars with out of state plates and instructed them to self-isolate for 2 weeks. Even went door to door in some areas, looking for out of state plates.
They arrested some guys from MA who snuck in a round of golf by parking their cars in a lot and getting in their RI friend’s car.
My guess is the numbers are as accurate there as anywhere, which is to say, not terribly accurate. The only really reliable measure is deaths, since the deceased are tested. I have relatives in both Maryland and Mass who tested negative, although both almost assuredly had it as everyone else in their homes did and they had symptoms. But neither were included in those state’s reporting.
“As President Trump presses for states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting a steady rise in the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus over the next several weeks, reaching about 3,000 daily deaths on June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly double from the current level of about 1,750.
The projections, based on modeling by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and pulled together in chart form by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, forecast about 200,000 new cases each day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000 cases now.
The numbers underscore a sobering reality: While the United States has been hunkered down for the past seven weeks, not much has changed. And the reopening to the economy will make matters worse.“
“There remains a large number of counties whose burden continues to grow,” the C.D.C. warned.
“The projections confirm the primary fear of public health experts: that a reopening of the economy will put the nation right back where it was in mid-March, when cases were rising so rapidly in some parts of the country that patients were dying on gurneys in hospital hallways as the health care system grew overloaded.”
I feel like we’re in an alternate universe. We received yet another request for a proposal today, for the structural design of a public works building in a small town north of us. We are so swamped we will be working weekends for the foreseeable future.
Americans. The US is in the late stages of Age of Discord II (Age of Discord I ran from the rancor of the 1850’s with a big spike in the 1860’s to the 1920’s with a big spike around the 1920 race riots and union busting killings; Age of Discord II started with the spike in violence and discord in the 1960’s and will almost certainly cumulate in a big spike in violence and discord in the 2020’s).
Nice to hear some good news. My business isn’t busy but my sales are on par with last year for the most part and the forecast for May is pretty solid. I’m feeling very, very fortunate and am just taking it one day at a time. We are missing a lot of promotional opportunties (trade shows) this spring and that might impact us come fall, but I am trying to shift to some virtual opportunities and more personal touches with my customers.
Wow, very few states in the US are prohibiting church services. Quite a few are limiting them to ten people or fewer, but other states allow more. I just do not understand. Would people worship in a church that was condemned for being structurally unsound? Why would they gather when there’s such a contagious virus going around?!?
Maine is one of the states that limits services to ten or fewer. Maybe that’s why I saw the cars at the house of our neighbors, who have a “house church.”
"Maine’s confirmed COVID-19 infection rate of 83.9 for every 100,000 residents was the sixth-lowest among the 50 states and District of Columbia as of Friday, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New Hampshire and Vermont were also in the bottom half of states, with infection rates of 158.2 and 138.3 for every 100,000 residents, respectively. The three southern New England states, on the other hand, ranked directly below New York and New Jersey as they each continued to experience surges. In Massachusetts, for instance, the rate was 901.2 per 100,000 residents – more than 10 times the rate in Maine."
So the rate of infection in Massachusetts is TEN TIMES the rate in Maine. And yet some people wonder why the Maine governor wants visitors to quarantine?
“ Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday listed the criteria that regions of New York will need to meet in order to reopen, but said that none of the state’s 10 regions currently meets the standards, which include declining COVID-19 infection rates and 90-day stockpiles of personal protective equipment in hospitals.”
A 14-day decline in hospitalizations and hospital deaths (or fewer than 15 new hospitalizations and five deaths in a three-day average).
New hospitalizations remain under two per 100,000 residents on a three-day average.
Hospitals maintain no more than 70 percent available bed capacity, including intensive care units.
30 per 1,000 residents are tested for COVID-19 monthly.
At least 30 "contact tracers" per 100,000 residents.
Hospitals in each region must have a 90-day stockpile of personal protective equipment.
We are fortunate also. Which is why I cannot bring myself to criticize those who are opening their businesses early or protesting inconsistent lock down rules.
I see so much hypocrisy on this. (From Facebook posts) some of the most vehement posts against the protesters calling them all sorts of names are people who I know traveled in March. They traveled when the epidemic was already apparent. Yeah, no problem there. They still gather with people outside their households (oh, but we were six feet apart) Uh huh. They have comfortable incomes, secure jobs and apparently no empathy for those who don’t.
In a major pandemic, people shouldn’t be travelling around without urgent and compelling reasons. Viruses don’t travel by themselves. They rely on the movement of people to spread and sustain themselves.
the problem was that we were “locked down” for 6 weeks and yes things did not go as bad as they predicted. People are antsy. Now tell people you need to stay locked down, while the weather is warming up for another 6 weeks. Some are not seeing how the first 6 weeks really helped. (not all, but some). Some are getting this besides only going to grocery stores supposedly. I abide by the contact tracing rule. If I got this tomorrow I could tell you whom I have been in contact with. I wear a mask when I am out. I would rather go to my nail salon or hair dresser or small store where I know whom I have been in contact with as long as safety is in place. I avoid walmart. Reading about a Walmart where 80 employees tested positive.
I stay home for the most part, but not locking myself in
I didn’t monitor this thread over the weekend, but I did discover a few concerning things when I looked in on it today:
[ul]
[] People calling other people out on this thread for not being concerned enough about some aspect of this pandemic.
[] Low-level political debates.
[/ul]
I’d like to remind everyone about something I said in another thread:
The debates I see right now are not Twitter-level, but they are uncomfortable. For instance, there was a conversation about closing golf courses that resulted in people pointing out that presidents and former presidents have access to golf when ordinary people might not. I live within walking distance of a disc golf course and I went up shortly after the lockdown order to see if it was open. I was a little annoyed it was closed because it seemed relatively safe for me to go. (But then I thought about the retirees who manage the course and it might not be safe for them.) I’d be very angry if the mayor of my town used the course or the associated regular golf course. Maybe that would be something to share that wouldn’t stir up political debate because my mayor isn’t associated with any particular political party.
But when people start talking about Trump and Obama . . . well that’s outrage that divides us politically. Let’s not do that, shall we?
Also, there’s enough stress right now we can all feel the loss of something. In the long run, my troubles with not being able to play disc golf are pretty minor compared to my neighbor whose restaurant has lost almost all of its sales. And his troubles are minor compared to people who have to risk their lives to put food on the table. It’s really ok to be worried about the effects this pandemic are having on you. Nobody should be shamed by being reminded someone else is worse off. Let’s find ways to support each other here even if that means staying silent sometimes.
Anyway, I’ll let you all get back to the discussion. Please keep it respectful.
My worry is that even if there is a theoretically-safe way to open up and do distancing, hygiene, etc. - I don’t get the sense that those most eager to open up, will be so eager to follow the new rules. (e.g. not wearing masks or distancing at the “protests”)
My husband just received 80 scientific papers to review, 80! He hopes to see some COVID related topics, but nope. All are about computational chemistry and machine learning. Maybe some of these works will help solve COVID related use cases, who knows.
A good reminder that the scientific community is still working relentlessly, even if they were stuck in the basement of their home for months.
Yes, you read that right. March is the time to go to Grand Island for the Crane migration, and you wouldn’t believe the number of people and the quality of photographic equipment we bring with us. Maybe you should get out more, you might see something interesting.
Also, we’ve enjoyed many trips to see family in Iowa. And since Iowa does a huge amount of trade with China (lots of hog farms in Iowa, big market for pork in China) there is more travel than you might think. Golly people can be provincial!